Fairy Tale
by KazumiMataku
Summary: Alicia, a twelve year old girl is on vacation with her parents at a relative's castle as they're gone for the week. Alicia has many adventures running into magical beings.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: A Family Estate**

Alicia, a twelve year old girl with wavy dirty blonde hair, is an only child with her Mother and Stepfather. Her mother is Kelsey Marine; who has brunette hair up in a tight bun and is currently looking out the windshield through the rain. Her stepfather is a tall and dark haired man, and was sleeping in the passenger seat. Alicia thought he was quite handsome, for a forty-five year old. Kelsey glances at John, in the passenger seat, then at Alicia through the rearview mirror. "You still awake, sweetie?" Alicia looks up from looking out the window at her mother. "Yeah." She lets out a yawn and Kelsey smiles, "Why don't you get some sleep. I'll wake you when we get there, okay?" Alicia yawned once again and nodded, her eyes getting heavy. She rested her head upon the window and fell asleep. Kelsey looked back out the windshield and sighs, "Wonderful." she mutters, turning the wheel.

Alicia wakes up to someone gently shaking her shoulder. She slowly opens her eyes and rubs them with the back of her hand. "Huh? What's going on?" Her mother smiles at her. "We're here." She says softly, and Alicia jumps out of the car; pulling a red drawstring bag onto her back, and looks up. She was standing in front of a huge Victorian castle that was possibly from the 1800's. She grins. "Wow, this place is huge!" She exclaims. Her mother chuckles, "This belongs to a relative of ours. He's in America at the moment, but he said that we could stay here. And I just couldn't resist the offer." Kelsey's eyes sparkle with joy and Alicia jumps up and down with excitement, twirling around on her toes to get a look at every inch of the front of the castle. "Come on! Let's go, let's go, let's go!" She squeals, pulling on her mother's hand and jerking her towards the humongous castle. Kelsey laughs as her daughter pulls on her hand. "Alright, alright! John's in there already, setting up our rooms for the few weeks we're here for." She says, walking with Alicia towards the Castle. Alicia was jumping with excitement. "Mum! Will there be cool knights and stuff?" She questions, looking up at her as her mother tugs open the big heavy mahogany doors. "Maybe, why don't you look for yourself?" Kelsey says, grinning widely and holding the door open for her. Alicia streaks inside, squealing with energy and bouncing up and down on her feet.

Alicia stood in the middle of the hallway to the entrance of the Castle, gazing at everything around her. The architecture in the castle was beautiful, shapes and swirls were carved in the stone that built the place and stained glass windows of the seal of the castle made the entire building bright with colours. The lighting was held with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Hanging tapestries were hung on the walls etched with Knights standing by their steeds, and princesses with their prince. Alicia was speechless by how much this place was decorated and built. A pretty blue vase sat on a table in the hallway, filled with several colourful flowers that she couldn't name. She could even see the staircase leading upstairs; she had a lot of exploring ahead of her. She turned to face her mother, words failing to help her describe how happy she was. Kelsey just smiled and rested a hand on her shoulder. "This place is quite beautiful, isn't it?" she murmurs, looking at a painting on the wall of man in his late fifties with dark hair and greying lines. He looked a bit important and tired, but Alicia wasn't really interested in the painting. "Do you think knights and warlocks lived in here long ago?" She squealed, bouncing up and down and starting to walk down the hallway. Kelsey hummed a sort of agreement, not exactly paying attention to her babbling. "Try not to get too lost." She says, and Alicia glances back at her mother. "John and I will be in the study which is the first door down this hall on your right. If you need us, we'll be there." Alicia grins and nods, understanding. "Okay!" She makes to dash off, but her mother calls back to her. "Alicia! All the bedrooms and bathrooms, along with a library, will be upstairs! Please be careful. Try not to break anything." Alicia lets out a whine. "Mum! I'm not going to destroy anything! I'm thirteen!" Kelsey points a finger at her, waggling it. "_Almost_, thirteen." She corrects. "Just another week." Alicia grins and waves at her mother, bolting off.

Kelsey seated herself down in a chair in the study, looking out the window at the back garden; which had a fountain, some stables for horses, and a beautiful flower garden, everything looking green and colourful. There were no horses held in the stables currently, but Kelsey assumed that back in the days when King Arthur was big the knights would ride off to battle on their horses, their armour shining in the sunlight and the stable boys would clean them daily, along with the blacksmiths shoeing the horses up. She smiled at the thought and planned to take Alicia out to the stables later on in the day. She looked up as the door opened and smiled as John walked in, wearing a smile upon his face. "Is everything alright?" She murmurs, standing up and wrapping her arms around his waist. "Yes, we're all settled in." John replies, hugging Kelsey and kissing the top of her head. "Alicia has a room just down the hall from us. Don't make that face! She'll be fine, Kel. She's turning thirteen, I'm sure she can handle sleeping by herself fine." Kelsey was frowning and John looked at her seriously. "I know. She's just the wandering type though. When something catches her eye or adventure is just out of her reach, she takes off after it." She lets out a frustrated sigh, sitting down once again. John chuckles and rubs her shoulders, comforting her. "It's alright. She's a child; it's in her nature to get into trouble, you know this more than anyone." Kelsey smiles and nods, agreeing. "You're right; I shouldn't be too worried about her, whatever could go wrong?" She laughs.

Alicia was in quite the predicament. She found the kitchen and decided to rummage through the cupboards for some food, since she was a tad bit peckish, and found herself high up on one of the shelves. She looked down at the floor and her eyes widened. Why did she always have to get herself into trouble? She opened her mouth to call to her mother for help, but then closed it shut. She pursed her lips; was her mother close enough to hear her or was she too far away to not hear her? She let out a shaky breath and looked back down, and wondered how she even got up here. Well; the counter was only three feet high and she was four eight or just about, and there were two levels of cupboards that she got the bright idea to shift through the top ones. It was about six in a half feet back down on the floor, more or less. She took a deep breath and jumped off of the cupboard, screaming as she fell, crumpling to the floor and holding her knee in the process. "Ah! Th-that wasn't a good idea…" She mumbles, shakily getting up and righting herself with the help of the counter. "Maybe I'll just ask mum if she can find me some food." She mumbles, hobbling out of the kitchen and hopping down the hallway to find her mother.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N:**_ _**you'll be seeing a preview of my favourite character in this chapter. You may not notice it, but he's there.**_

Chapter Two: Day One

"What did I tell you? You got into trouble and hurt yourself!" Kelsey frets, putting a band-aid on Alicia's knee which was scraped up from her falling. Alicia looks at her mother. "I was just exploring." She mumbles, and Kelsey looks up into her eyes. "Well try to be more careful, alright?" She suggests, standing up straight and smiling lightly. Alicia nods and jumps out of the chair she was sitting on in the Study. Kelsey glances out the window and looks back at Alicia. "Well, now that we're all settled in why don't we go outside? There's a very pretty garden out there." She smiles, holding out her hand to her. Alicia grins and takes her mother's hand. "Really?! Is there pretty flowers?" She asks, as they both walk out of the study and down the hallway to the back door that leads outside. "I think I did see a few gorgeous flowers out there." She replies, opening the back door and having Alicia bolt out the door.

"There's a stable!" Alicia shrieks with happiness, as Kelsey steps outside onto a stone pathway. She grinned as Alicia bolted off towards the Stable, looking about wildly in the process. Alicia stumbled around, popping in and out of the stable looking around for horses. "Muuum! There aren't any horses!" She whines, popping her head around the corner of the stable and pouting at her mother. Kelsey laughs at her daughters' disappointment and trots over to her. "Of course not dear, but look at the Stable. It's quite old, and made of stone like the castle! Now, can you imagine one of King Arthur's knights riding about a horse around here?" Alicia's eyes widen with joy as her imagination wanders, and she jumps up and down. "YES! And there's Warlocks too! But they'd be hiding of course, since Arthur didn't like magic. Did he?" She looks up at her mother and she smiles down at her, patting her head. "I don't think he particularly liked magic, but one Warlock was very special to him. Now, who was it...?"

"MERLIN!" Alicia squeals, running off and jumping up on a fountain's edge and standing proudly. "He was the best Warlock there ever was! He protected the King's life with his own!" Alicia grins happily, and flourishes her hand. "I cast a spell on thee!" She points to her mother whom raises a brow. "And command you to get me some food!" Alicia laughs and jumps off of the lip of the fountain, jumping into her mother's arms. She chuckles and hoists her up in her arms and twirls them around. "Alright, let's go see if I can make some magical lunch!" Kelsey jokes, heading back inside and wandering to the kitchen.

John had spotted a door in the kitchen and decided to look where it went to. Peeking inside he noticed a stone staircase spiralling down into what seemed to be the cellar. He hefted a sigh and pulled open one of the nearby drawers in the kitchen, rummaging through it and finding himself a torch. He clicks it on and began his decent down the stairs, holding out his other hand and holding onto the wall as he continued downwards into the dark cellar. He stopped as he reached the end of the staircase and looked around, flicking the beam of the torch around the room. It was indeed a lot darker down here than he expected, and the torch didn't give off enough light for him to see properly. He frowned and squinted, staring towards the back of the cellar. "Wine?" He mutters to himself, slowly inching towards the wall. He stopped in front of a large wine rack, filled with every type of wine there could be. He let out a low whistle. "hoo boy, Desmond's stacked for a lifetime!" he exclaims, grinning widely. He started taking down the bottles and examining them, seeing which one he fancied best. He held the torch between his teeth as he held up a blood-red wine bottle, the date was 1840 and it seemed like it matured a bit too much but he decided to take it anyway. He tucked the bottle under his arm and took the torch back into his hand. He glanced around, feeling as if he was being watched. He then looked down at his torch as the light started to dim. "Dammit, don't go out on me yet..." He mumbles, hitting it upon his palm. A breeze blew around him, ruffling the short hair that he had, and he spun around, the torch completely blowing out on him. "Alicia? Are you down here?" he calls out, his heart starting to pound wildly in his chest. He needed to get out of there, fast, the dank blackness of the cellar was slowly starting to make him panic. He backed up to what he thought was the stairs, but he stumbled over a wooden box. He held tightly to the wine bottle as it slipped from his arms, catching it before it crashed to the stone floor. He scrambled to his feet, someone was down here with him and he didn't want to stay down here to find out whom. He rushed towards what little light was left from leaving the door open to the basement, struggling up the stairway as he kept glancing back behind him.

John barrels up the stairs, coming up from the cellar. He panted and slammed the door shut behind him, leaning against it. He looked up and he saw Kelsey and Alicia eating sandwiches and laughing, at the other end of the kitchen. Alicia was seated on top of the counter; beside her mother, the both of them talking to each other. They both looked up as John walked up to them, running a hand through his hair. "What did you find?" Kelsey calls, as he paces over to them. John held up the bottle of wine. "I found the wine cellar downstairs, and thought why not? He's got a lot down there, he's not going to miss one." He smiled at her and Alicia looks at the bottle. "Are you gonna make a potion with that?" She asks, swinging her legs and eating her sandwich. John looks at her confused and glanced at Kelsey. "We were talking about King Arthur and Merlin." She laughs, informing him on what happened outside. John smiles and places the bottle on a nearby counter. "I might save a bit of it for a potion later. Would you help me if I did?" He asks, playing along. Alicia nods her head violently. "Yeah! Then we can get rid of the Dragon that lives in the forest behind the castle!" John blinks and glances at Kelsey, she just smiled at him. "Is there a Dragon there?" He asks, a bit worried but all children have an active imagination so she was probably just playing with him. She looked serious as she finished her sandwich and gave a brisk nod. "It's big! Almost as big as this castle!" She spreads out her arms, explaining the dragon. John was now confused. "You've seen this Dragon?" He asks, and her face turns into a frown. "No, but…I'm sure it'd be that big!" She says, jumping down from the counter. "Let's go back outside! Maybe the Faeries will help us out with the dragon!" Alicia runs out of the kitchen to run back in, pulling on John's hand. "Come on, Dad! Let's go find some Faeries!" She whines, pulling him out. He looks to Kelsey who shrugged and took Alicia's other hand. "Let's go find us some Faeries then!" She says, all three of them going outside to the garden.

Alicia swung her legs back and forth, perching on top of a branch in a tree. Her mother was busy sitting with John on the edge of the fountain and talking with each other. Both didn't notice that Alicia had climbed into the tree and was sitting halfway up it. She was looking around, her mind lost in her imagination. "If I find a fairy, will it help me find the others?" She wonders to herself out loud. She brushed her blonde hair out of her eyes, noticing something out on top of a large cliff a few hundred feet away or so from the back of the castle. "Mum!" She calls, making Kelsey look up from her conversation with John and glance about for her which made Alicia giggle. John glances behind them and his eyes travel up the tree Alicia was in, his eyes widening as he spotted her in the tree. Alicia grinned and stuck her tongue out, waving at him. He gently nudges Kelsey in the side with his elbow and nods his head towards Alicia. Kelsey's eyes widen in panic as she looks up at her daughter. "Is that a cave up there?" Alicia calls, before her mother could say anything, pointing at a dark indent in the cliff face. Kelsey follows Alicia's gaze and spots the cliff, and could make out what was indeed a cave carved deep into the cliff. "It looks like it, dear!" She calls back, a bit surprised at Alicia's find and hoped that she was smart enough _not _to climb up that cliff and explore the cave. Alicia's face lit up as she heard her mother's reply. "Do you think a Dragon lives up there?!" She asks excitedly, swinging from her branch and climbing down from branch to branch and landing on the ground safely. Her eyes sparkled for adventure just waiting for her to take it by the hand. Kelsey glances up at the cave and shakes her head. "There are no more Dragons around, honey. I'm sure there are faeries around though." She suggests, trying not to be too hard on her daughter about make-believe things. Her face falls and she kicks the ground, scuffing up dust with her foot. "I guess so." She mumbles, a bit upset. John stood up and ruffled Alicia's hair, making her look up at him. "Maybe instead, there'll be a family of Elves' up there hiding." He says, trying to cheer her up. Alicia bounces up, hugging her stepfather around the neck making him stumble back and laugh. "Can we go see if they're there?" She pesters, pulling back as he held her up in his arms. He chuckles at her enthusiasm. "Not today sweetie. We'll see if we can sneak a peek of them tomorrow." He says, winking at her and making Kelsey roll her eyes at him which Alicia didn't catch.


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: i'm sorry for the short chapter, they're just starting to get short and i really wanted to introduce my favourite character. I'll try and add more to the next chapter.**_

Chapter Three: A Nice Evening

Alicia had herself snuggled deep in her bed, half asleep, at nine at night. She was in a huge master bedroom by herself, her parents sharing a room across from hers. Her bed that she was in could as well fit four of her in it, and the wardrobe was a bit menacing looking in the dark. She snuggled deeper into the heavy blankets that she had around her, trying to get to sleep. A loud clattering came from out in the hallway, and she sat up in bed. She stared towards the door, her eyes wide with fear. She gripped the blankets tightly to her, slightly shaking. She jumped again as she heard a thump from outside of her door, staring wide-eyed at the door. She opened her mouth to call out to her mother, but then closed it thinking that if she spoke out whatever was outside her door would come and get her. She threw the sheets back and jumped out of bed, running to the door and throwing it open. She found herself standing in the doorway with no one in the hallway at all, it was dark and empty. Her parents were both fast asleep in the room across the hall. She glanced both ways down the hall, wondering what could've been up and about. Were there pets here, like a dog or a cat? No, she didn't see any cat hair or any pet supplies anywhere in this castle. So it had to be a some_one _instead of a some_thing_. She darted back in her room to get dressed and grabbed a torch from a drawer.

Alicia wandered the dark hallways of the castle, swinging the beam from her torch back and forth peering into corners and pulling her sweatshirt closer to her. Even if she's only twelve years old, she's brave and mature acting for a twelve year old. She still had her moments of imagination and fairy tale though. She peered around a corner to jump and stare wide-eyed at a statue that scared her. It was of a woman whom held a dagger in one hand and some sort of book in the other. She sighed and calmed down, her heart still racing. She shouldn't even be up and about at this hour, it was past her bedtime but she didn't care. She heard something, and she was going to find out what was running about the castle. She threw open a nearby door, her torch light piercing the darkness and making out a small billiards room. She frowned and closed the door, making her way down the hallway. She narrowed her eyes as she heard a rustling coming up from a nearby corner. She quietly sprinted in the direction of the noise, turning off her torch and peering around the corner.

She let out a muffled gasp as she covered her mouth at the sight she saw; there was a tall man standing in the hallway and he looked like he was in his early forties, and his eyes were a strange red glowing colour reflected in what small moonlight that was flowing from the window he was standing by. She backed up and stumbled back against the wall behind her, making a muffled thump. She closed her eyes, knowing the man well heard her and opened her eyes slowly to press herself more into the wall. The man in the hallway was now standing before her and he looked a bit furious. She opened her mouth to plead an apology but the man held up a hand. "Might I dear ask _why_ you're wandering about in the middle of the night?" He had a very heavy gentlemanly British accent unlike hers which was very light-hearted, and didn't sound like old English which was what his accent sounded like. "I-I heard a noise outside of my door…" She stammers, her heart beating wildly. The man lightly smiled at her, reaching out a hand and taking her own to cover it with his. "I'm sorry if I disturbed you, but you should be off to bed now." He suggests, grabbing hold of her shoulders and gently guiding her down the hallway. She glances back at him, wondering why she didn't see him before in the castle. "Who are you?" She asks, narrowing her eyes. The man keeps on guiding her down the hall, but his grip on her shoulders tighten. "That is none of your concern." He hisses, his eyes burning the red colour. She slightly flinches in the grip he has her in. "Do you have a name? I'm Alicia!" She skids to a halt, pushing his hands off of her shoulders and turning to face him. He was a bit nice to her just moment ago; maybe she can get him in a good mood, and be friendly. He glances down at her, frowning a bit. "You're only a child and yet you have such good manners." He sighs, and a smile spreads across his face. "My name is Callum, and it's very nice to have met you Miss Alicia Marine." He says sweetly, crossing an arm across his chest and slightly bowing to her like a butler would to his master. "Now that you've met me and know my name, I ask of you not to tell anyone that I am here. It'll be our little secret~" He smiles, winking and tapping the tip of his nose, and vanishing into the darkness. Alicia stared at the spot where he disappeared, not believing her eyes. "Alright Callum, your secret's safe with me." She whispers to herself smiling, turning around and walking back towards her room.


	4. Chapter 4

**_A/N: please R&amp;R! I'd like your opinion on this, as it's going to be a book I'll be publishing someday. And sorry again for short chapters. I've massively edited these so they're a lot better than they originally were._**

Chapter Four: An Interesting Find

Kelsey paced the dining room, her arms folded across her chest, biting her nails. John just followed her with his eyes, while slowly eating an apple. "She's probably tired. She needs her rest." John tries to persuade Kelsey for a fifth time this morning. "It's already twelve o'clock! She's never slept in this late! She's usually bouncing off the walls and claiming that she saw a bunch of roaming gnomes or something like that!" Kelsey wears a look of concern in her eyes. John stood up and grabbed the top of her arms, stopping her from pacing. She looks up into his face and he stares into her eyes. "Kelsey. She's fine. She's been running around like crazy yesterday, she probably tired herself out." John insists, trying to comfort her. Kelsey sighs and looks up at him again. "I-" Her eyes wander over his shoulder and John looks back to spot Alicia grabbing an apple off of the dining room table.

Alicia spots her parents looking at her and she grins, grabbing two more apples. "Hi! I'm off to go find some more faeries! I've already found two!" She sprints off, making John and Kelsey stare at where Alicia just was. They glance at each other and laugh. "I told you!" John chuckles, and Kelsey smiles. "I should have known." She murmurs, rubbing her eyes. "She always does this." She says, sitting down heavily and relaxing in her seat.

Alicia ran through the forest, grinning and laughing. There were indeed two faeries beside her, both clad in different coloured dresses. Alicia was heading up the cliff face slowly, gathering more faeries with her, to find the elves that were in the cave or the dragon that could be in there. The further she got in the forest, the thicker the trees became. Soon it was hard to weave her way through the trees, even if she was only a slim child. Her ears picked up the distinctive deep heavy breathing that could only belong to a dragon. Her smile widened and she quickened her pace through the trees, wanting to see a dragon for the first time in her life. The faeries beside her though were in a bit of a tizzy, whispering and fluttering their wings rapidly. Alicia didn't seem to notice that they were upset and continued onwards, when the breathing became louder. She slipped between two trees and almost fell right onto the dragon's snout. Her eyes were wide as she stared at the grass-green dragon, his eyes closed in slumber. Her ears picked up the sound of water nearby and she remembers reading about this particular dragon in a book;

"The green dragon is a belligerent creature and master of intrigue, politics, and backbiting. He is cruel. He prefers forests—the older and bigger the trees, the better. He likes to make his lair near lakes, rivers, and waterfalls. Instead of being overly aggressive, he prefers to contact elaborate schemes to gain power or wealth with as little effort as possible. The green dragon is a liar and master of verbal evasion. Just talking to a green dragon can lead to ruin. Green dragons breathe poisonous gas, that is, a toxic chlorine gas."

Alicia gulped, as she reviewed her findings in her head, she thought it was a terrible idea to have stumbled upon such a dragon and held her sweatshirt sleeve close to her face as the smell of chlorine hit her nose. She stepped back to bring her foot down on a twig, making it snap. Her eyes widened as the dragon stirred. The dragons head lifted up and his eyes opened to lock onto hers. She stood rooted to the spot as the dragon snorted and shifted, sitting up. 'Why are we here little one? Did you wander too far from your grounds?' He snarls to her, his lips curling into an evil fanged grin. She just stares at him, not speaking, shocked at her find. The dragons eyes narrow and he lowers his snout to become eye level with her. 'Do you know whom I am, lass?' He snarls, his lips curling and showing her his fangs. She shakes her head, holding her sleeve closer to her face and her eyes transfixed in his gaze. 'My name is Wyvern. I am a hundred and fifty years old, and I can tell you anything you wish to know.' His eyes gleamed with cunning evil, and she snapped out of the trance he held her in. "N-no. I don't need to know anything." She mumbles behind her sleeve, stepping back a bit. Wyvern flicks his large tail, having it slam to the earth and bounce her in the air. 'Are you quite sure child? I only offer this once...' Alicia shakes her head violently, backing further away from him. The dragon glares at her, his eyes burning with the fire that resides in his stomach. 'I know you are curious about a certain being that resides in your lair. Tell me, has he told you how many people he's fed on?' He lets out a maniac laugh, and Alicia stumbles backwards. She scrambles up and sprints off back to the castle. Wyvern let out a loud roar of fury and spewed green flames after her, furious that his prey escaped. Alicia stumbled through the humongous forest, her breath shaky and terrified out of her mind. She did not want to meet another dragon as long as she lived.

Kelsey glanced out the window of the study on the first floor of the castle, tilting her head to the side in confusion. "What's going on?" She mumbles to herself, seeing Alicia running out of the woods with a wild look in her eyes.

Alicia slammed into her mother, while glancing back at the forest trying to get inside. "Alicia, honey! What's wrong? You look terrified." Kelsey murmurs, looking down at her. Alicia whips her head around to look at her mother with wide eyes. "He was going to trick me mum." Her voice wavered as if she was about to cry. Kelsey scooped Alicia up into her arms, carrying her back inside and holding her close making comforting sounds. She was a bit confused on what happened, but didn't want to pry for information because her daughter looked like she saw someone coming back from the dead. She was shaking in her arms and she had run out of the forest as if she was being chased by someone. Kelsey began to wonder if all the myths and legends that Alicia's so excited about are actually true.


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter Five: Rest Easy_

Alicia found herself in her bed and she sat up, feeling something fall from her face into her lap. She glanced down and saw that it was a damp washcloth. Had it been on her forehead? And what time was it? It looked like it had just become morning as the darkness outside was starting to become light. "Your mother put you to bed yesterday afternoon. You were running a temperature, and the only thing she could do was put a cold cloth on your forehead and hope that you would get over the fever that you had suddenly acquired." A strong voice spoke from the corner of her room and she whipped her head around to find Callum standing in the corner of her room, looking a bit bored and very tired. "Callum." She murmurs, a bit happy to see him again because she half thought she had made him up. He smiled at her, showing a perfect smile. "I made sure that you were alright and Callum is a bit too formal. You can call me Cal if you wish." He shifted his weight, pushing himself more into the corner. "Enjoy your time in the forest? I hope you think twice before going in there again." His eyes flickered to the window as it steadily became brighter, and he looked back at Alicia. "I should get going. If you want, you can speak to me again tonight." He disappears again, as if sinking into the wall. Alicia stared at the spot where Callum was for a bit then bounced out of bed, wondering what she was going to do today.

Kelsey glanced out her bedroom door as she saw Alicia walk by. "Alicia!" She stops in her tracks in the middle of the hallway, turning around to look at her mother. "Where are you going?" Kelsey asks, hands on her hips and narrowing her eyes, already knowing her answer. "Out?" Alicia squeaks, shifting on her feet and feeling trapped in her mother's gaze. Kelsey sighs and shakes her head. "No. You've had too much adventure the first three days. I think you just need to rest easy. If you really want to go out I can take you out somewhere. I think I saw someplace fun to explore." She suggests, leaning against the doorframe and her eyes lighting up with love. Alicia's face lights up and she hurls herself at her mother, hugging her. "Yes! Can we go out? Can we, can we, can we, can we?!" Kelsey laughs at her excitement, and hugs her tightly setting her down. "Yes, go on I'll meet you by the car. I need to get my keys." Alicia squeals happily, running down the hallway.

A thousand pictures line the hallway that Alicia turned into and she skidded to a halt. She looks at all of them carefully; walking slowly and her eyes skimming the various oil, watercolour or pastel paintings. Her eyes spot a large oil painting in the dim light of the hallway. Trees, flowers, and a castle are painted upon the canvas. "Sweetie!" Alicia looks up from the painting that caught her eye. Kelsey jogs up to her, taking her hand. "Come on, we've got an adventure to find!" Kelsey exclaims, pulling Alicia down the hallway. She glances back at the painting and smiles as she spots the Pegasus painted in the sky, flying towards the castle in the painting.

Kelsey drove her car, with Alicia in it, to a river bank that was somewhat close by to the castle. Alicia was grinning and bursting with happiness bouncing around and giggling to her-self as she popped in and out of the riverbank. There wasn't much water in the bank, just about three inch thick trickle of water. It wove through some trees and both guessed that it would lead to a lake or pond nearby. Alicia was busy playing a game of tag with two of her fairy friends; Dulcina, a brunette fairy with greenish wings and a forest green dress, and Nixie, a blonde fairy with light blue wings and a watery coloured dress. Kelsey was just happy to see Alicia running around, since she could not see the faeries that Alicia is playing with. She was sitting underneath a tree reading a book that she found in the castle's library. She looked up now and again just to check that Alicia was there.

Both of Alicia's fairy friends darted towards the trees, laughing playfully and then halting when they hit the tree line their coloured wings flapping soundlessly. Alicia scrambled up to them, glancing through the trees. "What's wrong? Is there something there?" Alicia asks, concerned with how serious they are. "We'll play with you later Alicia, We need to get going." Nixie, the water fairy, said nodding her head at Dulcina whom nodded in return and they both fluttered off. Alicia scrambled after them. "Wait! Why are you leaving?" She calls after them, but they kept on flying away from her and she huffed, plopping herself down on a nearby rock. She glanced at her mother busy reading the book she brought with her and grinned, bouncing over to the trees and scrambling up and through them.

Alicia peered from behind a large boulder and she just stared. She was looking at Blue Bering Hunter Mermaid; her skin was dark, like her hair and she has a deep blue coloured tail. Alicia couldn't take her eyes off of her, all mermaids had a sort of a beauty pull towards them and she's never actually seen a mermaid before today. She frowned as she just watched the mermaid soaking up the sun upon a flat rock, half of her tail submerged in the water. After about ten minutes or so of admiring the beauty of the mermaid, she moved to go back to where her mother was and she tripped, landing flat on her face and letting out a small groan of pain. The mermaid heard her and her eyes narrowed, not liking being interrupted. "Who's there?" She snaps, making Alicia spring up and scramble on top of the boulder. "M-my name is Alicia." She stammers, remembering that these types of mermaids can have quite a temper when disturbed. The mermaid's face softens as she notices it was only a child. "I am named Lorelie." She replies, seeming to become friendlier since she was a child. "A-are you here by yourself, Lorelie?" Alicia asks, settling down upon the rock. She was transfixed by her and curious about what she was like. Lorelie smiled at her, flipping her hair back and splashing her tail in the water. "No, I'm not here alone. Our home is on the bottom of this lake, it goes behind this waterfall." She nods her head at the large waterfall beside her. Alicia looks down at the lake noticing that it was dark and pretty deep. "Oh…You have a very large place to live in then." Alicia murmurs, shifting and looking back at Lorelie. She smiled at Alicia, her eyes sparkling. "If you want, you can visit~" She slyly says, and Alicia stiffens. "Um, No thank you! I don't necessarily like swimming." Alicia says, trying to be polite as possible to her. Lorelie just laughs, grinning. "I was just joking! You wouldn't be able to hold your breath for very long, since it's quite a ways down." She smiles at her and Alicia flushes, embarrassed. "Come here," Lorelie beckons her over, waving her hand. Alicia slowly stood and made her way to sit beside her. "What is it?" She asks, looking up at her and noticing how she was even more beautiful up close. "Let me braid your hair." She requests, twirling her finger and motioning for Alicia to face her back to her. "Really?" Alicia grins and turns around, letting Lorelie gather her hair and start braiding it together. "If you ever want to visit us, come by again my friend." Lorelie says, tugging Alicia's hair into a band so the braid kept hold and tucking a blue flower into her hair. Alicia smiles and admires the work. "Thank you Lorelie. This is beautiful." Lorelie smiled and lent down, placing a kiss on her forehead. "A beautiful gift for a beautiful child." She murmurs, cupping her face and smiling. Alicia smiled back and took a rope bracelet from her wrist and offered it to her. "Here, I want you to have this. I made it myself." Lorelie seemed amused by the offer but took the gift. "I shall treasure this gift for as long as I live." Alicia beamed at her then bounced up. "I'll see you again, Lorelie!" She says, scrambling over the boulder she was at before. "Maybe next time you come you can meet my sisters!" Lorelie calls after her.

Kelsey was peering around, looking worried as she had lost track of Alicia for twenty minutes. Alicia heaved herself out of the slightly dry riverbed, rolling on the grass to her mother's feet. Kelsey looks down at her, frowning. "Where have you been? Didn't I tell you not to go running off?" She scolds, Alicia scrambling up to her feet. "Yes, sorry. I was playing with my Fairy friends." Alicia mumbles, looking down at the grassy ground. Her mother sighs and pats her head, noticing her braid. "Did you do this yourself? It's beautiful." Alicia grinned. "My new friend, Lorelie braided it for me!" She says, admiring the mermaids work. Kelsey smiled and stood up, stretching. "Well, I hope you thanked her! Now let's get back to the castle and have some lunch."


End file.
